Appeals Court Rules No-Call List Is Constitutional

In a ruling published today, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the national no-call list passes First Amendment muster.

The ruling went against industry organizations including the American Teleservices Association and the Direct Marketing Association. Both had advanced arguments against the national list, among them that the list arbitrarily discriminated against commercial telemarketing calls while allowing nonprofit and political calling to continue.

"We hold that the do-not-call registry is a valid commercial speech regulation because it directly advances the government's important interests in safeguarding personal privacy and reducing the danger of telemarketing abuse without burdening an excessive amount of speech," the court stated in its ruling. "In other words, there is a reasonable fit between the do-not-call regulations and the government's reasons for enacting them."

If the industry chooses to appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court would be asked to hear the case.